Do Your Best and Don't Worry*

Been a rollercoaster week or so since my last post. I came back from Vegas and was virtually busto in terms of poker money, thanks more to blackjack than poker in Vegas to be fair, but also down to a bad run online.

So I had to reload on Party and plonked down £250, just under $500. At first things went great and the first night I could easily have believed in the old "they let you win when you first deposit" myth, racking up a nice profit. Within a few days I had the bankroll over $2,000 thanks to 6-max 1/2PL Omaha hi and thought all was rosy, a few days later and I was almost busto again!!!!

Obviously Omaha is a very swingy game and everything that had been going right started going wrong - if I had top set the board wouldn't pair and villain would catch his str8 or flush; if I had the str8 or flush the board would pair on the river.

I also badly misplayed a few hands for sure and at one point think I was down to under $300 or so. Thankfully, as of about 5 minutes ago, I won a big pot on each table I had open and the bankroll is back in the $1900 region.

Definitely learnt a couple of lessons about playing Omaha, more of which to follow after I watch the Simpsons....

.......Okay I'm back.

My biggest omaha losses obviously come from the kind of thing I mentioned above, but I also need to remember the following (pretty basic things but I'm essentially self-taught in Omaha so worth reiterating):

1 - Folding the nuts - Lost a huge pot with a nut straight with no redraw . These are tough to get away from for obvious reasons, but if stacks are deep and your opponent is reasonable it's one to be aware of.

2 - Folding trips - Hold em players really struggle with this one and can't fold a 5 with bad kickers on a 556 flop when, depending on the action, they are likely up against A5 at the very least or even 66xx. Feel smug at getting away from that very situation recently.

3 - "Slowplaying" the best hand - Got stung by this one a few days ago but used it to my advantage tonight. In the first instance I'm in an unraised pot with 88xx and in LP. Flop is K83 rainbow and it's checked to me, I bet pot. SB calls. Turn is a blank and SB checks, I bet pot. NOW the sneeky git raises and I'm committed to the pot. He flips KKxx and I miss my 1 out.

Tonight I have QQxx, again unraised pot, and the flop is AQ9 with two spades. SB bets pot, BB calls and I just call, looking for a non-spade, non broadway turn card. Turn is a red 3, SB bets pot again, BB folds and I shove. SB calls with 99xx and he misses his 1-outer too.

Obviously this is something which works better with a flop texture like the first hand rather than the second; if villain in hand 2 had spades and a straight draw he still had plenty of outs.

4 - Folding non-nut hands - Well duh!!!

5 - Realise which game you are playing - Posted this on +1. A guy called all 3 streets against me with 10-high when I had a set of Aces, including a value bet of $68 on the river. He had 10 7 2 4 and must have thought he was getting half the pot with his lo!!!

*from Southpaw Grammar (underrated Morrissey solo album)